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Faced with Yeon Ji-ho’s fierce resistance, Hadad had no choice but to step back. As he stood up, he raised his arm to wipe his face. He looked down expressionlessly at the saliva mixed with a little blood.
“…”
Meanwhile, as Hadad moved away from him slightly, Yeon Ji-ho hurriedly got off the bed. As Yeon Ji-ho quickly stood up and was about to open the door and run out, Hadad spoke softly.
“If you leave.”
“…”
“If you leave, do you think anything will change?”
Yeon Ji-ho’s hand, gripping the doorknob, hesitated. He knew better than anyone what Hadad meant.
Throughout the story, Hadad was said to be one step ahead of Set. However, Yeon Ji-ho was just an ordinary person, weaker than not only Set but also Chronos or Apophis. So this wasn’t an escape, but rather Hadad letting him go.
Yeon Ji-ho, still holding the doorknob, turned his head slightly. His eyes met Hadad’s, who was looking at him with an unusually serious expression.
“Hadad, you seem to be mistaken…”
“Hmm.”
“This is my world.”
You can’t act recklessly here like in Asterra.
If Hadad causes trouble with his sword energy, I’ll have to call the police. No, even without reporting, wouldn’t the nearby military base come to arrest him? Moreover, he might even be sent to NASA for all kinds of experiments.
Bang!
Yeon Ji-ho opened the door, went outside, and slammed his room door shut. As he passed through the living room and put on his shoes at the entrance, his heart was beating so fast it hurt. That’s why Yeon Ji-ho didn’t look back towards his room.
He didn’t want to admit that he was afraid of him. Fear makes people weak.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s really okay.”
Since Hadad came over here, Set must be alive and well in that other world. So if he could just hold out here…
Yeon Ji-ho, who had been walking out of his pension grounds, suddenly stopped. The thought occurred to him that he had been the coordinates for them. Then… how did they cross over?
‘You’ll never see them again.’
Hadad’s words kept spinning in his head. That can’t be. Yeon Ji-ho unconsciously hugged his stomach with both arms and slowly moved forward.
The sun was just setting here. Elongated shadows lingered at Yeon Ji-ho’s feet.
Hadad was in his house, and unable to muster the strength to drive him out on his own, Yeon Ji-ho headed to the nearest supermarket. Although called a supermarket, it was actually a convenience store. An independent convenience store without a brand name, which was rare these days.
“Welcome… Oh, Student Ji-ho. It’s been a while?”
Thanks to this being the closest store to the pension, he used to buy urgent necessities here when staying with Set. Since he hadn’t come during his time in Asterra, the owner’s wife greeted him warmly.
“Ah, yes…”
Without the energy to greet properly, Yeon Ji-ho entered the store with his head down and first picked up a bottle of water. He was terribly thirsty, having left without drinking anything.
He was planning to just buy that and leave, but something caught Yeon Ji-ho’s eye. It was a pregnancy test.
Without realizing it, Yeon Ji-ho reached out and grabbed the test, then approached the counter. As he was about to put the two items on the counter, Yeon Ji-ho suddenly realized he had nothing with him.
He didn’t have his wallet, of course, and his phone…
The phone he had taken just in case was left in his luggage in the caravan. It was something he had completely forgotten about since there was no use for it there.
Realizing he had no money, Yeon Ji-ho sighed softly and reached out to put the items back. That’s when the owner’s wife gently slapped the back of his hand.
“Student Ji-ho, did you forget your wallet?”
“Well… yes.”
“Bring it next time you come. We’re not strangers, I can let you have it on credit.”
The owner’s wife, who had lived here for a long time and still called Yeon Ji-ho ‘Student Ji-ho’, smiled kindly and tore open a black plastic bag. She put the pregnancy test and water in the bag and handed it over, saying,
“If you have good news, let me know first!”
“Pardon?”
“When I hear the news, Seon-rok’s family will be overjoyed, absolutely overjoyed.”
The owner’s wife’s subtle gaze reached Yeon Ji-ho. Only then did Yeon Ji-ho understand what she meant. It was because he bought the pregnancy test.
Normally, he wouldn’t have bought a pregnancy test in this place where rumors spread quickly, but having experienced shocking events one after another, he didn’t even have time to think about such things. Looking at the owner’s wife’s beaming smile, Yeon Ji-ho thought that the rumors would spread by tomorrow.
Trudging out of the store, he headed to a nearby park this time. On the hillside of the village, there was an old park with rusty exercise equipment gathered together.
Usually, there would be grandfathers and grandmothers playing Go or chess around here, but today it was unusually quiet, as if they had all gone somewhere. Yeon Ji-ho sat down on an empty bench and rustled through the plastic bag to take out the items.
Although he had checked with a potion in that other world, you never know. How could he be sure of the accuracy of that potion? After some consideration, Yeon Ji-ho opened the test box and briefly went into the bathroom at one side of the park.
Then he put the test on the bench and anxiously waited for it. When the line appeared…
“…Ah.”
Yeon Ji-ho let out a soft exclamation as he saw the two clear lines. What followed was a deep sigh. Yeon Ji-ho rubbed his face with a troubled expression.
He really, truly was pregnant.
Unlike when he checked with the potion in that other world, receiving confirmation here in his own world made practical problems flood his mind. Pregnancy for Omegas, especially male Omegas, was not an easy matter.
There was more than one or two things to think about. If, as Hadad said, he could never see Set again… Just as the thought was about to reach its conclusion, Yeon Ji-ho cut it off. There was no time for unnecessary worries.
“Why did I have to get pregnant now of all times…”
A lament came out involuntarily. The pregnancy rate for male Omegas was only 30%, even during heat cycles. Moreover, Set wasn’t even an Alpha. So why on earth…
“…Enough. Let’s think about other things first.”
After briefly composing himself, Yeon Ji-ho thought about the next problem. So, what was he going to do about Hadad?
Although he had left his own house for now due to the urgency, he couldn’t just hand over his pension to Hadad like this. He needed to think of a way to drive him out first.
He thought of everything from the bat in the house to all sorts of tools and even the stun gun. If he could somehow attack unexpectedly with those… No, should he just really call the police? Report him for trespassing.
As his imagination was becoming more concrete, it happened.
“Ji-ho?”
Yeon Ji-ho’s head snapped up. He saw Seon-rok looking at him with a surprised face. Beside him was Soo-cheol, still with his impassive expression.
Seon-rok let go of Soo-cheol’s hand and rushed towards Yeon Ji-ho. He slapped Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulder.
“When did you come back! You should have said something when you arrived!”
“Ah, it hurts. Uncle…”
It was a whine he wouldn’t have normally made, but being conscious of his stomach, Yeon Ji-ho deliberately exaggerated. This made Seon-rok’s eyes sharpen even more as he was about to slap his back even harder.
He couldn’t do it because Soo-cheol grabbed Seon-rok’s wrist.
“Why! Why, what now!”
“…”
Soo-cheol looked at Seon-rok’s eyes looking up at him, then slightly lowered his head and nodded towards the item next to Yeon Ji-ho. Seon-rok also lowered his head to look at it.
By the time the surprised Yeon Ji-ho quickly gathered all the items he had put down on the bench and stuffed them into the plastic bag, it was already too late. Seon-rok’s eyes widened to the point of almost tearing.
“Yeon Ji-ho, you…!”
Seon-rok, who had already seen the clear two lines on the test, looked down at Yeon Ji-ho with a shocked face. Yeon Ji-ho tightly closed his eyes.
“So this is why you’ve been acting strange lately!”
“Ah, uncle…”
“How am I supposed to face your mother, really!”
Yeon Ji-ho lowered his head at Seon-rok’s scolding. He had thought Seon-rok would react like this if he saw. As Yeon Ji-ho just kept his head down without saying anything, Seon-rok let out a deep sigh. That sigh made Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulders flinch.
“Ji-ho.”
“…Yes.”
“Let’s go to our house first.”
Get up quickly.
At Seon-rok’s call, Yeon Ji-ho stood up in a daze. Ending up between Seon-rok and Soo-cheol, Yeon Ji-ho slowly walked down the hill.
“Honey, what’s for dinner tonight?”
“…Braised hairtail.”
“Ugh, old man’s taste. Make what Ji-ho wants to eat! Make it!”
Seon-rok’s characteristic chaotic chatter was particularly welcome today.
